Recruiting

iWalk

Sponsor:

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Code:

NCT07285954

Conditions

Neurodegenerative Disease

EEG

Mindfulness

Adults

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

iWalk Program

Study Details

Brief summary:

This study is a randomized controlled trial of the walking meditation intervention (iWalk) program, a multi-component intervention integrating walking meditation, education, and group sessions designed to enhance resilience in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS).

The objectives are to evaluate:

1. Recruitment capability and retention rates,
2. Acceptability and adherence to the intervention,
3. Feasibility of assessment procedures, and
4. Preliminary effects on psychological, physiological, and behavioral outcomes.

Conditions

Neurodegenerative Disease

EEG

Mindfulness

Adults

Study ID

NCT07285954

Start date

Jun 1, 2025

Status verified date

Dec, 2025

Completion date

Dec 31, 2029

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 31, 2029

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

1. 18 years or older,
2. clinical diagnosis of a neurodegenerative disease such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, stroke, etc.,
3. have not practiced meditation regularly (e.g., 10 mins per day) and have never attended any meditation classes or community programs,
4. never received meditation training via coaching/certification/life coaching,
5. have internet access,
6. with no severe cognitive impairment, i.e., have a score of ≥ 21 on Modified Telephonic Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-M),
7. be able to walk with or without an assistive device (Patient determined Disease Steps score ranged from 0-6),
8. are willing to be randomized to an intervention or a control group,
9. are willing to wear Fitbit (a wrist smart watch) for eight weeks,
10. are individuals who are right-handed according to the Edinburgh Handedness Questionnaire,
11. are willing to participate in all assessments, including in-person testing using electroencephalography (EEG) and cognitive tests, online survey/questionnaires, and online interviews or focus group discussions,
12. are willing to wear a Hexoskin t-shirt, which is a heart rate variability monitor, while doing the assessments in person.

Exclusion Criteria:

Participants who cannot speak, read, write, or listen in English.

Study Design

Enrollment

90 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

active comparator: iWalk Program

This group receives the complete iWalk program.

active comparator: Education Only without Walking Mindfulness Practice

This group receives only education part of the iWalk program without walking mindfulness sessions.

no intervention: Control Group

This group does not receive any intervention and are placed on a waiting list.

Interventions

iWalk Program

A multi-component behavioral program integrating walking meditation, education, and group sessions to enhance resilience and stress regulation in adults with and without chronic conditions.

Primary outcome measure

  • Connor Davidson Resilience Scale for Adults (CD-RISC 25) [ Time Frame: The baseline means assessments done two weeks before the intervention start date. Post-intervention assessments will be conducted two weeks after the intervention. Follow-up 1 is 24 weeks from baseline, and follow-up 2 is 48 weeks from baseline. ]
  • Multiple Sclerosis Resilience Scale (MSRS) [ Time Frame: The baseline means assessments done two weeks before the intervention start date. Post-intervention assessments will be conducted two weeks after the intervention. Follow-up 1 is 24 weeks from baseline, and follow-up 2 is 48 weeks from baseline. ]
  • Stroop Task [ Time Frame: The baseline means assessments done two weeks before the intervention start date. Post-intervention assessments will be conducted two weeks after the intervention. Follow-up 1 is 24 weeks from baseline, and follow-up 2 is 48 weeks from baseline. ]
  • Symbol Digit Modalities Test [ Time Frame: The baseline means assessments done two weeks before the intervention start date. Post-intervention assessments will be conducted two weeks after the intervention. Follow-up 1 is 24 weeks from baseline, and follow-up 2 is 48 weeks from baseline. ]
  • Wisconsin Card Sorting Test [ Time Frame: The baseline means assessments done two weeks before the intervention start date. Post-intervention assessments will be conducted two weeks after the intervention. Follow-up 1 is 24 weeks from baseline, and follow-up 2 is 48 weeks from baseline. ]
  • Sustained Attention to Response Task [ Time Frame: The baseline means assessments done two weeks before the intervention start date. Post-intervention assessments will be conducted two weeks after the intervention. Follow-up 1 is 24 weeks from baseline, and follow-up 2 is 48 weeks from baseline. ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Chung-Yi Chiu

12172446435chiucy@illinois.edu

Vaishnavi Sridharan

vs35@illinois.edu

Locations

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Recruiting

Urbana, Illinois, United States, 61801

Contacts

Chung-Yi Chiu

217-244-6435chiucy@illinois.edu

chiucy@illinois.edu

Principal Investigator:

Chung-Yi Chiu, Ph.D.

More Information

Sponsor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Last update posted

Dec 16, 2025

Last verified

Dec, 2025

Keywords

  • Walking meditation
  • Emotional regulation
  • EEG

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on 2025-12-16.